


A Better Understanding: Secrets Revealed

by Kuma_In_Pink



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Characters Read, Child Abuse, Fantasy, M/M, Manipulative Dumbledore, Multi, Other, Reading the Books, Romance, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-10
Updated: 2013-08-10
Packaged: 2017-12-22 19:39:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/917277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuma_In_Pink/pseuds/Kuma_In_Pink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry defeated Voldemort in the DoM, and saved Sirius in the process. Armed with a mysterious book and a cryptic letter from "a friend", Sirius, Remus and a slew of other characters read about Harry's past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Better Understanding: Secrets Revealed

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah...I'm back. 
> 
> I got tired of having my stories hunted down, and lost a lot of love for the Characters Read section of Harry Potter fandom. However, I missed writing - terribly. It's been a long time coming, but I want to try again! Though some things have changed, my overall ideas for the fic are the same. 
> 
> For instance, I'm going to tone down Dudley's role in the abuse. Other minor changes will involve grammar, spelling and fixing minor inconsistencies.
> 
> Also, the readings are all going to be in this story, versus spreading them out into other books. That way, it can all be found in one place!
> 
> Fondest Wishes, 
> 
> Kuma In Pink

 

_** Harry Potter Defeats He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Again! Sirius Black Is Innocent!?  ** _

_**** _

_**  
**"In a brief statement on Friday night, Minsiter for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, confirmed that He-Who-Must-Not Be Named had indeed returned to the Wizarding World, and was active once more. The Key term being **was**. Though the details are still hazy, it has been confirmed by twenty-three eye-witnesses that You-Know-Who and a select band of followers, (Death Eaters), gained entry into the Ministry of Magic last Thursday Evening.  
_

_'It is with regret that I must confirm that the wizard styling himself as Lord - well - you know who I mean - was alive and among us for a whole year.' Said Fudge, looking tired and flustered as he addressed the reporters. 'It is almost with equal regret that a grave error from the previous administration fifteen years ago. We were decieved into believing Siruis Black murdered thirteen muggles and betrayed the Potters to You-Know-Who. The true cuplrit was a former friend by the name of Peter Pettigrew.'  
_

_The Minster's statement was met with dismay, alarm, confusion and relief from the Wizarding Community, which, as recently as last Wednesday, was recieving Ministry assurances that there was 'no truth whatsoever in these persistent rumors that You-Know-Who is operating amongst us once more', and that 'Sirius Black, a deranged murderer, is the one behind these Death Eater activities'.  
_

_Albus Dumbledore, newly reinstated Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, member of the International Confederations and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, has been unavailable for comment. He has insisted over the past year that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was not dead, but had been recruiting followers for a fresh attempt to seize power. Meanwhile, the Boy Who Lived-"  
_

  
_  
_~()~

_  
_"There you are, Harry. I knew they'd drag you into it somehow." Hermione said, looking over the top of her paper at him. They were in the Hospital Wing, recovering from the aftermath of the Final Battle. Sirius sat on the end of Harry's bed, listening to her read the front page of the Sunday Prophet. Ginny, whose ankle had been quickly fixed by Madame Pomfrey, was curled up at the foot of Hermione's bed. Neville, who had also been swiftly healed by the matron, sat in a chair in front of Ron's bed; Remus stood at Harry's bedside, amber eyes darkening at the paper's mention of his cub. Luna, who had dropped in for a visit, clutched the latest edition of The Quibbler upside down. She appeared to be reading and not taking in a word of what Hermone had said.

"He's the 'Boy Who Lived' again now, isn't he?" Ron muttered darkly. "Not much of a deluded show-off anymore, eh?" He helped himself to a handful of chocolate frogs frim the immense pile on his bedside cabnet, distributed a few to the others with help from Neville, and ripped the wrapper off his own with his teeth. There were still deep welts on his forearms where the brain's tentacles had wrapped around him. According to Pomfrey, thoughts could leave deeper scars than almost anything else. However, with generous amounts of Dr. Ubbly's Oblivious Unction, Ron seemed to be making a little more progress each day.

"Yes, they're very complimentary about you now, Harry," she agreed dryly, continuing to scan down the article. " 'A lone voice of truth... perceived as Unbalanced, yet never wavered in his story... forced to bear ridicule and slander...' Hmmm..." she frowned, as though pondering something. "I notice they don't mention the fact that The Prophet was behind all the ridicule and slander."  She winced slightly and put a hand to her ribs. The curse Dolohov had used on her, though less effective than it would have been cast verbally, caused quite enough damage as far as Pomfrey was concerned. Hermione was having to take ten different types of potions every day. Though a long way from healthy, she looked much better than the first night.

Sirius and Remus snarled at that. From what they'd heard, Harry had been pushed to the brink of a mental breakdown this year, half of it caused by the Wizarding World's so-called perceptions of mental instability. Almost the entirety of Wizarding Britain had effectively abandoned their savior and assumed the worst, heaping more and more damage upon Harry's cracking psyche. Then, when the truth finally came out, they sang praises of the boy's heroics and trust him back into their good graces, acting as though nothing had changed. The fact that Sirius had also been slandered hadn't en

"Well screw them!" Sirius snapped, his chocolate laying forgotten on the bed. "They can sod off for all I care!"

They sat quietly for a few moments, contemplating the unfairness of it all. All except Harry, who was extremely grateful that Sirius had come out of the Veil unscathed. The memories of his battle with Voldemort were fleeting at best; there had been a radiant gold light, one which enveloped the room entirely. The next thing he knew, Voldemort had become nothing more than a charred mass of flesh and bone. After that, he vaugely remembered Sirius carrying him out, while Remus and Moody pushed away unwanted onlookers.

"There _is_ a silver lining to this, you know." Remus spoke, smiling brightly.

"Yeah," Neville readily agreed. "At least V-Voldemort is gone for good."

Remus's smile grew wider. "Of course, but that is not what I meant."

"Huh?" Ron inquired, sharing a confused glance with Neville. Ginny had an absolutely bewildered expression upon her face, and Luna dropped The Quibbler in surprise - Apparently, she had been paying attention after all. Hermione's eyes darted from Sirius to Harry, before she adopted Remus's smile. Sirius and Harry gaped stupidly at him for a moment, their minds and hears a whirl of emotion.

  
Sirius hadn't put much thought into the ex-Marauder's capture at the time, not when his godson's health was one the line. However, the realization instantly grabbed hold of him. It seemed that at long last, they had a chance ot set things right and become a proper family. For the first time in two years, he felt a stirring of hope in his soul. Harry, meanwhile, dared not believe what he was hearing. What if he were wrong? What if Remus was hinting at something else? He hadn't forgotten Third Year's disapointment, and the price paid for leaving the way he did. He shuddered inwardly, not looking forward to Uncle Vernon's wrath in regards to Dudley. Now that Voldemort was gone, Harry knew that his existence no longer held meaning. His uncle could do anything, and nobody would care. The thought made him feel incredibly lonely.

"Harry, you, Moony and I can become a family." Sirius spoke, half exuberant, half disbelieving his good fortune. Harry's eyes widened as his darkest thoughts were temporarily silenced. "That is, if you still want -"

"Me? Y-you still _want_ me? Even after you - even after what _I_ -" The fearful trepidation in his godson's voice tore at Sirius' heartstrings, and he found himself embracing the boy at once. Because even though he had just saved the world, that's what Harry was. A _boy_. An emotionally vunerable, heavily burdened _boy_.One that neither Voldemort nor Dumbledore had the right to involve in their problems to begin with! A boy who had saved his soul in every possible way.

"We're here for you, Harry." The werewolf said, joining in the hug.  The others watched this warm, heartfelt moment, having been completely forgotten by the budding family."Always."

After so many years of being a freak and a burden, Harry didn't want to believe any differently. It would only hurt too much when they discovered the truth, and decided to throw him out - or worse, send him straight back to the Dursleys. Harry's stomach lurched at the notion. Even so, hadn't this been the moment he always prayed for as a small child in his cupboard? For a while, the young savior allowed himself to revel in the positive contact - normally, such a thing would make him tense. Yet something about the Black heir was able to soothe that part of Harry - just as Ron, Hermione and a precious few had done. Something felt different, there in that hospital room. The tides were changing once again, and for the first time in his life, it had nothing to do with Voldemort. At long last, he could stop being the Boy Who Lived and be Harry. _Just Harry._

Now didn't that sound lovely?

 

~()~

That night, Sirius and Remus wandered around the castle without the Map, and found a few noteworthy changes. For instance, most of the secret passages had either collapsed, or somehow became compromised. There were also newer porraits up, including a strange knight with the tendncy to spew insults at them - new to Remus, at any rate. Sirius had run into Sir Cadogan once before, during his botched attempt to exact revenge on Wormtail. Sirius stiffled a sigh, feeling both his age and the toll time had taken on him. To think there had been a time when the four of them roamed the halls together, without a care in the world. Well no, that wasn't _quite_ true. Each of them had their own problems _._

Pet -  _Wormtail_ \- and his tendancy to get picked on, Remus and his lycanthropy, James and the declinding health of his aging parents and Sirius, whose entire family seemed to be stuck deep in their dark ways. Even so, they managed to forge a powerful friendship within their first year. A friendship that would last for the rest of their lives. Or so they thought. With James dead and Wormtail headed toward life in Azkaban, the Marauders had been shattered and broken, with only half of them remaining. Even more damningly, there was Harry, who had quickly become more than a godson.

They visted the kitchens, roamed the hallways, and peered into old classrooms they had learned in as children. Eventually, they arrived at a blank stretch of wall on the seventh floor. Across from it was a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy.

"Things haven't changed that much, have they?" Remus inquired lightly.

"I suppose not." Sirius murmured with a shrug, leaning against the wall behind him. His hollow, almost barren tone hadn't gone unnoticed.

"Are you alright?" he placed a hand upon Sirius's shoulder. "You've been a little off since this morning."

"Not really... Relax, Moony, I'm not feeling sick or anything!" he added upon seeing Remus's worried expression. "It's just... I don't know how Harry and I... I care for him, but we don't really _know_   each other." Sirius sighed, his head drooping. "What if I mess up? What if I make him hate me?"

"Sirius, he won't _hate_ you." Remus assured him kindly. "These things can't be rushed; if you are patient, I'm sure he will open up to you."

The ex-convict nodded. His friend's words made perfect sense, but a single, crushing problem remained: Harry would be a man next year. Could they ever be a true family, given the awful events that had kept them apart for so long? Was he even fit to be a father? _I wish knew more about him._ He thought sullenly.

It was then, in that exact moment, that it happened. Sirius let out a cry of surprise, as the wall behind him suddenly vanished. Remus grabbed his arm in an attempt to stop the fall, but it was invain. The two of them were quickly sucked in.

 


End file.
